Element-specific investigation of the magnetization of ultrathin Fe on a V(110) single crystal

Abstract The magnetization of ultrathin Fe deposited in situ onto a V(1 1 0) single crystal has been studied by means of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements at the L 2,3 absorption edges of Fe and V as a function of the Fe coverage. The Fe magnetization sets on at an Fe thickness of 2 ML in accordance with an earlier Polarized Neutron Reflectometry investigation. It increases rapidly with Fe thickness and asymptotically reaches the bulk magnetization at 5 ML. In the critical Fe thickness regime between 2 and 5 ML it significantly increases by cooling from room temperature to 110 K due to the reduced Curie temperature of the ultrathin Fe film. In contrast, the onset of the Fe magnetization at 2 ML is barely influenced by cooling which may be due to the coalescence of the Fe islands observed earlier with low-energy electron diffraction. Residual O contamination on the V surface reduces the Fe magnetization due to the formation of Fe oxide.